Why Ukraine moved Christmas to 25 December
A look back at the law on shifting religious public holidays, signed on 28 July 2023, as a break with Russian practice.
What did it mean when Ukraine moved Christmas from 7 January to 25 December? On 2 August 2023, the change was days old. Volodymyr Zelensky's signature on 28 July 2023 had turned a parliamentary bill into law.
The bill amended the Labour Code. It shifted the date of Christmas celebrations from 7 January to 25 December. It also covered other state holidays whose dates are tied to religious ones.
The stated aim was to abandon the Russian legacy of imposed Christmas celebrations. That framing placed the measure within Ukraine's wider move away from Russian practice, rather than presenting it as a purely calendar-related adjustment.
The regional backdrop was tense. On 27 July 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese delegation met in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of hostilities in the Korean War. Kim and Shoigu also toured an exhibition of North Korean ballistic missiles, which multiple UN resolutions prohibit.
